One morning I saw some guys kayaking. I crossed Higgins Street bridge to get a closer look. There were alot of people taking pictures with huge cameras on tripods. A lady came up to me as everyone was leaving and said that she was glad that I could make it. She said that it had been a last minute thing and that she had just found out the night before that they would be kayaking in the morning and then emailed us. I told her that I had just happened to be walking by with my camera and was not in her photography class.

My walks in the mornings in Missoula were fabulous. The temp. was wonderful and the scenery breathtaking.

Look at this innocent looking man. Maybe he is just a collector.

When I told my mom that I thought dad was a hoarder - she looked at me like I had just called him something I shouldn't have.

My mom and dad have been looking for new kitchen chairs for several years. They just couldn't find the ones they wanted. The ones they have are old and not sturdy. They have been glued and fixed so many times I was worried that one of them would break and injure someone. Well, I found some great new chairs for them - bought them and took them home. Both mom and dad were thrilled. So was I until I realized that my dad could not get rid of the old ones. He hauled all of the old ones to different rooms - there were chairs everywhere. He even had chairs that a neighbor was getting rid of and they were all in his garage. I just had to take pictures because each chair had a pair of my dad's work shoes under it.

Peanut Butter jars filled with every nail he has pulled out of every board he has ever found and then straightened. These jars are stacked 3 deep.

Nuts and bolts - buckets and buckets of them.

This box is full of shoelaces. Notice another peanut butter jar. Did I mention he eats alot of peanut butter

This saddle has been hanging in the garage since I was a little girl. We used to swing on it - hanging onto the stirrups.

Okay, my dad is a hoarder. I always suspected it and decided to capture it with my camera. Growing up I remember my dad having things like shoeboxes filled with spare "Bic" pen parts. He probably still has that box somewhere. Maybe it was because he was raised during the depression - I don't know but if you need something fixed or a spare part - my dad's the man.

I took mom and dad to Billings to visit my sister Joan and her family. We had a great time but mom was completely worn out. Dad, Mom, Joan Chelsea and Rick

Rick and Spanky

Austin and Rick both built and planted raised garden beds. They were beautiful. Can't grown stuff like this in St. George.

MONTANA

Just got back from a little over a month in Missoula. Just love that place - not just `cause that is where I was born - or that mom and dad still live there (although good reasons) it is because after being in this desert for over 2 years now - I go home and realize that I still love the mountains, trees, flowers, green stuff and the "M".